A few weeks ago I wrote about why I do this work. Tuesday night at the Multicultural Forum’s kickoff evening I had dinner with some others in the field and I was struck by a comment by one of my younger colleagues who works for a major corporation. She said that the only thing that keeps her “sane” is the opportunity to network with her colleagues to share her frustrations and celebrate her small “wins”. She lamented that her company just started working on D&I in earnest about two years ago. Prior to that, the focus was strictly on compliance. She went on to say that sometimes she just gets blank stares from leaders in her organization as to why there is a need for network groups or mentoring for women and people of color.
We all talk about the need for a solid business case to convince leaders of the importance of D&I work. We have mountains of compelling data from changing employee and customer demographics, the link between engagement and inclusion, and the strong correlation of inclusion to innovation and business results. In addition we have piles of reports that show women, people of color, LGBT, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups continue to face glass, concrete and bamboo ceilings in organizations.
On any other topic, such convincing data would be enough for leaders to take action, and put the necessary resources (time and money) to change the trajectory. Think about initiatives such as Six Sigma. Companies do not simply send people to one day training on improving cost and quality. They spend millions to integrate six sigma principles into their everyday work. Employees study to achieve “black belt” status. It is an initiative…a process that gets built into the very DNA of the organization.
Many of us have long wished that D&I would become a part of the fabric of organizations. It seems like such an up hill battle. Many leaders don’t seem to get that D&I is as important to their survival as efforts like Six Sigma. I applaud those that do and wish more be visible.
I am committed to continuing to do this work so that my younger colleagues and others who are getting into the field (e.g. my daughter!) will not continue to have the level of frustration the young sister expressed at dinner earlier this week.
